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Molly Autrand English 2010 The Walking Dead and the Weak Female Character The Walking Dead is a television series based on a post- apocalyptic graphic novel created in 2003, with the television series starting in 2010. The series is hugely popular and has been since its first episode and the reason for this is a fantastic storyline as well as strong character development. The series follows a group of people through south east United States as they work together, and at times against, to survive in a zombie infested world. At first glance at the title, one would think that it was referring to the zombies as they are “walking dead”. As you watch the series, you realize the title has a deeper meaning than that and refers to the group as they are the walking, with death at every turn. Anyone watching the series could pull a half dozen cultural themes from the storyline, settings, and characters but the theme that could be apparent is weak women in post-apocalyptic circumstances. On the cast list on the Internet Movie Databank web-site, it sorts the cast by order of number of episodes the characters begin with. In the top five listed, there is only one female listed (and she happens to
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Page 1: Walking Dead Anaylsis.docx

Molly Autrand

English 2010

The Walking Dead and the Weak Female Character

The Walking Dead is a television series based on a post-apocalyptic graphic novel created in

2003, with the television series starting in 2010. The series is hugely popular and has been since its first

episode and the reason for this is a fantastic storyline as well as strong character development. The

series follows a group of people through south east United States as they work together, and at times

against, to survive in a zombie infested world. At first glance at the title, one would think that it was

referring to the zombies as they are “walking dead”. As you watch the series, you realize the title has a

deeper meaning than that and refers to the group as they are the walking, with death at every turn.

Anyone watching the series could pull a half dozen cultural themes from the storyline, settings,

and characters but the theme that could be apparent is weak women in post-apocalyptic circumstances.

On the cast list on the Internet Movie Databank web-site, it sorts the cast by order of number of

episodes the characters begin with. In the top five listed, there is only one female listed (and she

happens to be the fifth one). That begs a question as into why the top leading characters are men.

Page 2: Walking Dead Anaylsis.docx

In looking at the additional female characters, you can clearly see their weaknesses, which is

how society often time sees women. In the first season, Lori Grimes is torn between two men, her

husband and Shane Walsh. It’s a crazy love triangle that even when Lori becomes pregnant, the

audience is never 100% sure that her husband is the father, even though she swears by it. This shows an

example of the way the series characterizes women- only would a woman be concerned about the two

men she loves and has sexual relationships with than the danger that surrounds her day to day. And

Lori is also shown as being a type of temptress.

Carol Peletier is one of the female leads that has continued with the series from day one to the

current season. Although her character has grown stronger as the series progressed, she was initially

seen as a submissive women who was giving in to, and then protecting, her abusive husband. She was

timid and afraid and needed the men in the group to look after her.

Michonne joined the team as one of the strongest female characters. She is a katan wielding,

zombie killing machine. But Michonne couldn’t appear to be too strong, moving into the fifth season

she has taken a type of motherly role over Carl and is comforting towards Rick.

Page 3: Walking Dead Anaylsis.docx

A season that showcases the apparent gender roles of women is Season 3. At the end of season

2, Andrea is separated from her group after a walker takeover at Hershel’s farm and she is then rescued

by Michonne. In season 3, Michonne and Andrea end up at a new community, Woodbury. Woodbury is

ran by a sadistic and masochistic man called The Governor. The Walking Dead played up on Andrea’s

gender by having her character become infatuated with The Governor and giving in to him. Even though

her closest friend, Michonne, was telling her they needed to leave, Andrea felt as though they were ok

staying in Woodbury because she wanted to trust the Governor. Even though throughout the season

The Governor kept giving Andrea reasons to distrust him, she kept going back and it ended up being the

death of her.

The Walking Dead has been criticized for its portrayal of women and lack of strong female

characters. When googling “Walking Dead, gender roles” there is absolutely no shortage of web-sites

that are analyzing the series episode by episode and pointing these out. Even on mic.com, it points out

that the female characters carry guns far less than their male counterparts. This could be translated as

women being the weaker members of the group and needing the men to take care of them. In season

one, Lori gives Andrea a hard time about sun tanning on the roof of the RV while Lori is washing clothes

stating they need to do their part to help the camp. That’s because it’s the women’s duty to clean and

cook, rather than hunt and/or gather supplies.

Page 4: Walking Dead Anaylsis.docx

Although the Walking Dead definitely has its flaws in its portrayal of women, as it’s been

discussed in many texts previously a zombie representation of current cultural themes can be highly

effective. Especially in this state, women are still being criticized for pursuing careers and having a life

outside of the home. Women are expected to be homemakers with being able to cook, be fantastic

(and happy) mothers, and nurturing. The Walking Dead is able to present these gender roles and

stereotypes, whether on purpose or not, without appearing to be too harsh. It appears different to

display gender roles by a woman washing clothes in a camp surrounded by zombies than a 1950’s film of

a woman in pearls and high heels serving dinner to her husband, but it really isn’t that different.

When questioned about his weaker female characters in an interview for The Comic Journal,

Robert Kirkman (the series writer) stated "I don't mean to sound sexist, but as far as women have come

over the last 40 years, you don't really see a lot of women hunters. They're still in the minority in the

military, and there's not a lot of female construction workers. I hope that's not taken the wrong way. I

think women are as smart, resourceful, and capable in most things as any man could be … but they are

generally physically weaker. That's science." Whether or not that is science, a fictional television series

should be the prime time to create strong female leads. Other texts and/or films that are guilty of this

Page 5: Walking Dead Anaylsis.docx

(in the same genre) would be Zombieland. The two female leads, Wichita and Little Rock, use their

female prowess and cunningness throughout the film starting with Wichita acting like a ditzy rich girl at

the gas station and then using her flirting skills to con the gas station attendant out of all the money in

his till. Although Zombieland has several scenes where Wichita and Little Rock appear to be stronger

than their male counterparts, they are still playing up on gender characteristics.

As far as research goes for the Walking Dead television series, they are basing it off of the

graphic novels series. Criticism online states that in the comic series, the female characters are stronger

and can equally compete with the male characters. With what Robert Kirkman stated, perhaps it’s safe

to assume that the weaker female counterparts were written in to be more accepted in the television

industry and with consumers.

In conclusion, although it is not ideal to have support or portray societies gender roles when you

can create such strong women, using zombie texts can be a neutral way to discuss many cultural issues.

Page 6: Walking Dead Anaylsis.docx

The Walking Dead is a prime example and as the series progresses, it will be interesting to see if the

female characters evolve any further into stronger characters or if they will continue to lag behind their

male counterparts.

Page 7: Walking Dead Anaylsis.docx

Works Cited

Collins, Monique. "'The Walking Dead' Season 3: 3 Sexist Things the Show Says About Women." Mic. Arts.Mic, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2015.

Rodriguez, Amanda. "The Women of The Walking Dead: A Comparative Analysis of the Comic vs. TV." Bitch Flicks. Bitch Flicks, 13 Feb. 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2015.

Abrams, Simon. "Think The Walking Dead Has a Woman Problem? Here's the Source." Think The Walking Dead Has a Woman Problem? Here's the Source. The Village Voice, 03 Apr. 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2015.

"The Walking Dead." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2015.

"Zombieland." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2015.

"Walking Dead Wiki." Walking Dead Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2015.

Kirkman, Robert. "The Walking Dead." The Walking Dead. AMC. N.d. Television.


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